Two Februarys ago, a 14-year-old Woodland Wolves High School football player watched his older brother sign a National Letter of Intent to compete at the next level.

That could be me next, thought Devin Jones.

Today it was his turn to place his John Hancock on a letter of intent with 14-year-old brother Ryan watching on, like Devin once did when Dalen Jones signed with Fresno State.

"It'll be sick if all three of us make it," Devin said Tuesday evening, twelve hours before he was scheduled to Colorado State on national signing day. "I'm happy, that's all I can really say. Hecka happy."

Jones is set to receive a full-ride scholarship from the Rams, who are fresh off an 8-6 campaign that ended in a Gildan New Mexico Bowl victory over Washington State.

"What I like about it is, all the coaches," Jones said. "They're all real. Coach (Jim McElwain) is a real good man."

The cornerback was also drawn to the school's setting -- Fort Collins, Colo., which he visited in December and called "nice" -- and the possibility of seeing the field immediately.

"They let him know he'd have an opportunity to play," Woodland coach Bert Salinas said of Colorado State's staff.

Jones is already gunning for a bigger role than just as a reserve.

"I know that one of the starting corners is leaving, so that's an open spot," Jones said.

That goal could be a tough one to reach, considering there were 11 underclass defensive backs on Colorado State's 2013 roster and five other corners who have committed to the Rams along with Jones.

Jones' desire to start as a freshman speaks to why Salinas called him "as big of a competitor as I've ever coached."

"Devin's obviously got speed and he's got skills, but he's an extreme competitor," Salinas said. "He does not like to lose. He could be playing a board game, and he wants to win -- at every single thing he does."

Beside that passion, the Rams were drawn to Jones' speed.

"They are always talking to me about how fast I am, and my aggressiveness," Jones said. "I like that I'm getting out there to a higher altitude, so coming back to California, running will be easy."

Jones graduates in June, but he's already started preparing for his time in the Rockies.

"I've been lifting every day, and on weekends I do one-on-ones with some of my friends from Inderkum," he said. "We just stretch and go straight into one-and-ones, at a little park."

Among the Tigers who practice alongside Jones are Arizona State signee Jordan Thomas and UC Davis commit C.J. Spencer.

Jones also working on his footwork with Ryan Ginyard, a former coach who played with the Wolves until 2009 and is now an athletic trainer.

"Extremely driven" was one phrased used by Salinas when talking about Jones. The coach also called Jones a "great character kid" and "a pleasure to coach."

Salinas noted that Jones "really stuck to his guns" during the recruiting process, although surely the senior would have liked to join brother Dalen in Fresno.

"He liked Colorado State, so he stayed true to them," Salinas said.

So with his parents, brother Ryan, Salinas, Ginyard and others watching this morning, Jones kept true.

n Fellow defensive player T.J. Molina will play at Southern Oregon, a National Association of Interscholastic Athletics school in Ashland, Ore., this fall on a partial scholarship.

Salinas said Molina, who was a defensive end with the Wolves, will receive about $20,000 from the Raiders.